Congratulations from Coach Conrad

[Coach Conrad]

Yesterday was a wonderful day. Getting to spend time with the Palardy family and watch Michael commit was awesome. He could not have chosen a better program, or coaching staff, to play for. The episode of Kiffin not being able to talk to Michael to accept his commitment because he had an episode with his kids not eating their vegetables was priceless.

I have worked with Michael since he walked on campus at STA his freshman season. At the time we had Wes Byrum kicking there but Mike was one of those kids you knew would be special. By the beginning of his sohomore year Mike was up on varsity and the rest is history. The 60 yard fg in front of Coach Gran during spring football of his freshman year to get the Auburn offer was ironic - who knew that it would come full circle two years later with an offer, and commitment, to Coach Gran again.

You have to understand how difficult it is for a young kicker or punter to play at Aquinas - the school has produced more D-I kickers and punters than any high school in history - every starting kicker and punter the past 10 years has received a D-I offer. For Mike to start kicking there as a sophomore is pretty special.

Anyway, about Mike - simply the best kicker AND punter I have worked with - ever. I have had the fortune of working with some talented kickers and punters in America over the past ten years - guys like John Vaughn, Garrett Hartley, Pat McAfee, Brett Swenson, Kodi Bliss, Ryan Succop, PJ Fitzgerald and Wes Byrum, to name some you might recognize. Mike is stronger, more accurate, hits the ball further, and has better mechanics than any of those guys did.

You have to remember Aquinas scores almost every time they have the ball - there were not a bunch of fg opportunities for Mike because the offense could not be stopped last season. Mike missed three games because of a slight injury at the beginning of the year too. Aquinas also had the number 1 punter in the nation last season in Ben Turk, who signed with Notre Dame. Michael was so much better in practice but when you have two D-I guys, you play both. Nobody loses.

Mike has refined his punting to the point where 11 of his 15 offers were for punting this spring. He is a GREAT athlete, which is mandatory as a punter - superb hands, two stepper, gets rid of the ball quickly. He has great hang time, turns the ball over with ease, and can both directional punt and pooch. He is a left-footer, so that ball is going to be tailing away from the returners - tough to simulate in practice.

In the kicking department, Mike has been kicking from the 30 in practice off a college 1 inch tee for the past 6 months - he has the strongest KO leg I have ever seen - and his kicks are constantly in the 4.0's on hang time. On fg's we practice with an 8 foot wide goalpost and Mike has been kicking everything off the grass for the past 6 months - he will be strictly a grass kicker his senior year at Aquinas. He has hit from 72 yards off the ground, with a snap and hold, at Aquinas during his sessions, but we spend the majority of our work hitting in the 25 - 45 yard range, which is what he will be facing the most in game situations.

Mike realizes he will have to compete when he gets to UT - he will be kicking against a kicker and punter who will be established, both entering their senior seasons. Michael will be prepared in all three aspects of the kicking game and he will fight for all three jobs as a freshman. He will do his best, and he will do whatever the coaching staff asks of him.

On a side note, I hope Tennessee fans realize how special a coach and recruiter you have in Eddie Gran. College football has evolved, unfortunately, into a business where a coach's words don't mean much anymore. Eddie's words do. Kids down here in Florida trust him. I could tell you some horror stories about your SEC brethren in their recruitment of Michael - but I will take the high road. I will say that Coach Gran is successful because he does things the RIGHT way - I think players respect that and feel comfortable playing for a man, and program, that they trust. I know Michael felt this way.

Anyways, congratulations on a GREAT pick - up! We will be following UT football closely this season. I hope Danny Lincoln and Chad Cunningham have great seasons, and the Vols have a memorable year!

Best of luck - I am excited about cheering on the Vols this season!!

Coach Conrad

[gorockytop]

Look forward to seeing you Coach Conrad.

[Jewbaccah]

Thank you kind sir for the info and we are all looking forward to seeing Michael in Orange. Go Vols!!!

[EricFreakingBerry]

Believe us, we are thrilled to have him aboard. If he can come in and be just as effective as some of those other special teamers you've worked with or that have come from Aquinas then we have brought in a very special player.

[VolDC]

How awesome is it that a high school coach takes the time to post on here what he thinks of one of our coaches. Coach Conrad, I hope you develop that kind of trust in our entire staff. We would love to have as many of your players as possible.....lol.

Good luck with your season coach.

[matts42012]

Thanks Coach. I hope you can make it up to UT this year or next. And yes, we are thrilled to have Micheal on board! Just let him read the comments by people from this thread. We know he is not any ordinary kicker.

[kcvols1]

Thanks, Coach! We can't wait to see Mike in Tennessee Orange, along with some of the rest of St. Thomas Aquinas' class of 2010!

Thanks also for the first hand confirmation of the character of Coach Gran. The price tag says we have the best money can buy; it is nice to see their professionalism matches their salary.

[crazyguy]

Thanks for the post Coach. I'm sure that you know the great tradition that UT has in its kickers as well. Unfortunately, our talent has dropped off a bit in recent years. We are all very excited to have Michael here at Tennessee to bring us back to the top school for kickers. We're glad to have you here at the Nation.

[MDBJJC]

Thanks so much coach. We are ecstatic about having Mike on the team. Your words makes us even more excited about Mike and Coach Gran!
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[english_vol]

Thanks for the info very happy to have him.
And congratulations on how successful your high school is with Special Team players thats incredible.

[hohenfelsvol]

Nice read. Thanks for sharing.

[CountVolcula]

Thanks for taking the time Coach. Sounds like I need to send you a UT hat to wear.

[Duckcrazed]

Thanks for posting coach...can't wait to get Mike on campus! Good luck this year.

[kcvols1]

I can't believe I forgot to mention this:

"No. 6: Press the kicking game. Here is where the breaks are made."

[crunchimusmaximus]

Ummm, care to elaborate on the horror stories? My interest is peaked.